• Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
    1. Sustainability

    U.S. Renewable Diesel Imports Soar in 2024

    Aug. 15, 2024
    Renewables imports increased 29% for the first part of the year.
    ID 307981697 © Scharfsinn86 | Dreamstime.com
    Biodiesel imports rise in 2024

    In the first five months of 2024, U.S. imports of renewable diesel averaged 30,000 barrels per day, 29% more than in the same period last year according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and reported by Biodiesel magazine.

    According to the report, the increase in imports was likely driven by increased:

    • Production capacity at Neste’s Singapore plant following its expansion in mid-2023.
    • Renewable diesel storage capacity at Vopak’s terminal in Los Angeles, California.

    So far in 2024, 18,000 barrels pers day (b/d) of the 30,000 b/d of imported renewable diesel have gone to Los Angeles, an increase from 2023’s annual average of 13,000 b/d, according to the report.

    Imports of biomass-based diesel—a category that includes both renewable diesel and biodiesel—have made up a larger-than-normal portion of U.S. consumption. In the first five months of 2024, imported biomass-based diesel supplied about 20% of U.S. biomass-based diesel consumption, compared with about 15% in 2023 and 10% in 2022.

    Although the report forecasts that more biodiesel and renewable diesel will be imported in 2024 than in previous years, it says it expects imports to decrease in the second half of the year in part because of scheduled maintenance at Neste’s Singapore and Rotterdam plants.